Jury Shown Footage of Noah Donohoe's Body Discovery
Video footage depicting the discovery of schoolboy Noah Donohoe's body in an underground water tunnel was presented to the jury during the inquest into his death.
The footage was recorded on a small camera worn by a police search-and-rescue team.
Noah, aged 14, went missing on 21 June 2020. His body was located in the tunnel near a Translink depot along the M2 in north Belfast.
The last reported sighting of the St Malachy's College student was at Northwood Road, close to the tunnel inlet, more than 600 metres upstream from where his body was found six days after his disappearance.
'Could Clearly See a Pair of Legs'
Constable Wylie, a member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) search-and-rescue team, described the moment of finding Noah's body shortly after he and a colleague entered the tunnel chamber, which measured 8 feet (2.4 metres) in diameter and 10 feet (3 metres) high.
He stated they observed human remains and
"could clearly see a pair of legs and buttocks"without any clothing.
The officer returned to the surface to inform his team, and two additional colleagues joined them when they re-entered the tunnel.
Wylie noted approximately half a dozen marks on a thin layer of sludge along the tunnel walls, which he believed were finger marks made by someone steadying themselves.
He described it as
"as if someone was moving through and steadying themselves"and added that the marks appeared to have been made by smaller hands.
"My belief was these marks were made by Noah himself,"Wylie said.
The officer also mentioned that there was
"very little water"in the tunnel at that time.
The inquest was then shown body camera footage taken by the police search-and-rescue team inside the tunnel after Noah's body was found.
The audio captured echoing sounds within the tunnel, along with splashing and dripping water noises as the team navigated the dark environment using torch lights.
One team member remarked,
"remains are visible".
Noah's body was visible lying near a corner in the tunnel.
The team also observed that Noah was
"without clothes"and noted
"some green deposits on his back".
Noah's mother, Fiona, left the courtroom just before the footage was displayed on screens around the room and returned four minutes later after the recording ended.
'No Sign' of Noah on CCTV from Back of House
The inquest also heard that no evidence of Noah was found on CCTV footage taken from the rear of a house near where he disappeared.
Constable Craig, a police witness, testified that he reviewed CCTV footage from the back of 85 Northwood Road in north Belfast, captured around the time of Noah's disappearance.
The officer viewed the footage during police inquiries two days after Noah went missing.
He stated he did not observe any indication that Noah was present in the area behind the house or in neighbouring back gardens.
The inquest was informed that the time stamp on the footage was incorrect, but Craig said he watched approximately ten minutes of footage and saw no sign of Noah moving in the area.
Regarding the CCTV material, he said:
"From what I viewed, there was no value in it."
He also explained that he viewed the footage on a mobile phone rather than a monitor.
'Poor on My Part'
It was previously stated during the inquest that the PSNI was unaware of the camera at the rear of the house until after the inquest began at the end of January 2026.
A lawyer representing Noah's mother, Fiona, highlighted that the witness made a statement the year following Noah's death without mentioning viewing CCTV footage from the rear of number 85.
She noted that he only referenced it in a second statement submitted to the inquest after the issue was raised at a prior coroner's court hearing in February 2026.
The barrister described
"the revelation"in February that a CCTV camera was positioned at the rear of the property as a surprise to those involved in the inquest proceedings.
She said it
"came as something of a concern"and questioned Craig on why he did not mention it in his initial statement or alert anyone before it was raised earlier this year.
The police witness acknowledged it
"was poor on my part"but explained that he passed the information about viewing the rear-view footage from 85 Northwood Road to two senior colleagues as he was assisting in the search for Noah.
He said he did not know why his colleagues did not relay the information further.
Craig added that he recommended the footage he viewed on a mobile phone be downloaded and examined on a larger screen.
However, he reiterated that if he had seen any indication of Noah's movements on the rear-view CCTV footage at the time, he would have documented it in his first statement to the inquest.
The witness also agreed with a PSNI barrister that he did not expect his involvement in the CCTV searches for Noah to be
"the last word"on the matter.
Craig further described seeing Noah on a camera positioned at the front of the same house.
In his statement to the inquest, he said Noah was running in the direction of a neighbouring home, towards the rear of the house.
A lawyer for the coroner clarified that Noah was walking at the time, possibly at a brisk pace.
